An open plan kitchen/living room is always a tricky one, you have to find the right balance between the spaces and make them work together as one room. I see so many tenement flats where the kitchen has been squeezed into a corner and it looks completely out of place, like you have literally taken a kitchen and stuck it in a living room.
When we viewed this flat we broke one of our main rules and forgot to bring a measuring tape. That meant for 6 weeks, while we were waiting on the keys, I couldn’t plan the layout. I had lots of ideas and no clue if any of them would fit but we were pretty set on adding an island.
I think my main tip for designing an open plan space would be to stop thinking of it as separate spaces. I made a conscious effort to stop calling it the kitchen and the living room and changed to ‘the main room”. This helped me to imagine it as one working space so adding an island wasn’t taking away space from the living room, it was just adding another useful thing to a practical room.
Our next hurdle was the fact that the country (and most of the world) was on lockdown. This meant that I couldn’t go to any kitchen planning appointments or even view colour options. I have used the IKEA kitchen planner a few times in the past and found it really easy to work with. I made a few designs on there and then finally settled on the final one and booked an online appointment. It took about 6 weeks from the first design to having the kitchen delivered.
The ceilings are really tall (2.7m) so we decided to add a second row of wall units for extra storage. They aren’t very practical for everyday use but I thought they would be great for baking things or snacks that you don’t need easy access to. Is it just me that tries to hide chocolate on top of cupboards but then ends up eating it all anyway?
This small kitchen is jam packed with storage and is a real statement. I think the BODARP range is a new favourite of mine. It looks great and it’s made from recycled plastic bottles. Expect to see it again soon!
Before
coorierenovations.com 
This looks great! What counter top did you use? We are trying to choose one to use with Bodarp but it’s hard with the lockdown and not being able to see any samples.
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